Treatment of HPV-Associated Squamous Cell Carcinoma Previously Mistaken for Branchial Cleft Cyst

Head and neck surgeon Carole Fakhry, director of the Johns Hopkins Head and Neck Cancer Center, describes the case of an adult male patient with a neck mass mistaken for a branchial cleft cyst. Once pathology revealed HPV-positive squamous cell carcinoma, he was referred to Johns Hopkins for further management. The patient met with the center’s multidisciplinary team and elected to proceed with a robotic transoral resection of the oropharynx tumor and completion neck dissection with adjuvant radiation therapy.